Only not in a good way. While friends from other parts of the country complain of unseasonably cold and wet weather, we are having a record-setting hot summer in the Seattle area. Usually we don’t see consistent good weather until after the Fourth of July. But this year, it’s been hot since early May. This week they had warnings of heat like we’ve never seen- over 100 degrees. For us, even 80 seems hot, so this was a bit worrisome.
Blog
Forensic Analysis of an Old H-Brace
This is a very, very old fencing H-brace that I just removed from our pasture. I would venture a guess that it is part of the original farm homestead, and was probably installed before 1910. It is interesting to see that people in our region are still building these the same way, and to see where this one failed as it aged. Most of the old fencing from this place is gone, but there are a few stretches here and there that remain, half-consumed by nature.
The Mice Are Back, Part 2
This morning, I witnessed this funny little inter-species drama. The cat had caught a mouse, and was lording over her dead prize. The chicken wanted it. Our chickens can be a bit confrontational, I say, they aren’t “chicken” about anything. Here you can see the chicken is posturing to the cat in a tense and threatening way, and the cat is reacting with annoyance. A few times the chicken pecked at the cat, and the cat swatted back. They were definitely having an argument. Continue reading “The Mice Are Back, Part 2”
The Mice Are Back, Part 1
I haven’t been driving my “dog show van” much because I haven’t been showing or training dogs much. The other day, I took it to the store to pick up some lumber, turned on the AC, and was immediately struck by this thought “is that urine I’m smelling???” And then mouse nesting started flying out of the heater vents! :-0
A Few More Tractor Woes
We’ve been having trouble with the quick-attach loader on our New Holland TC30. The front bracket starts to slide over time, and eventually the loader bucket starts to flop all over, and “buck” off the mounting tubes. In this photo from last winter’s snow, you can see how the brackets have come loose, again.
Field Fence Stretching
Last weekend I stretched the first line of fencing in the second pasture. Last summer my dad made me a bracket and rod system for the tractor loader, to help unroll field fencing. There are also systems made to unroll off the back of the tractor, hooking onto the PTO connection. But this one is much cheaper and simpler. It works great. And I imagine it’s a bit easier on your neck, to be able to sit facing forward and visually monitor the fence unrolling; versus having to constantly look behind you if you are towing it instead. Continue reading “Field Fence Stretching”
Bullfrog
I found this little guy sitting out by the poultry houses at dusk. Though we have scads of bullfrogs, all singing at night, it’s rare to see them. They are very shy and quick to jump and hide in the ditches if they hear you coming.
But, the near-darkness must have convinced him to sit still instead of flee. And, I’m not sure what he was doing so far away from water.
Windows Live Writer
I learned about a nice, freeware blogging tool from doing a “corporate blog” at work- Windows Live Writer. For quite some time, I’ve been annoyed with the slow performance of WordPress’ web interface editor (though I have high speed internet, it’s wireless-all we can get out here, and it’s not that fast).
H Brace Tension Device
Last year, when installing my fence H-braces, I used “twitch sticks” to tighten the diagonal wire that provides tension to the brace. Upon reflecting, however, I’ve decided those aren’t the best choice for field fencing. Once the fence is up, it’s difficult to impossible to twist the stick if you want to tighten the brace again- it hits the fence. I think this would even be true for anything other than three-strand wire fencing. Continue reading “H Brace Tension Device”
Grass Trap
When I was shopping for a tractor, I was really waffling between a couple of brands. I ended up with the New Holland partly because it was affordable, partly because they had great financing deals, and partly because I liked that an old dealership was nearby. I figured they’d always be around. Though I plan on doing a lot of tractor fixing myself, I figured there would be times I’d need them to do repairs. And, I wanted convenience when going to buy parts.